Bath Time
by mvdiva
Summary: Complete. Chapters 3 & 4 posted. There's nothing like a warm bath. A short story of Kenshin's longing, and a look into an author's deep-seated obsession over one steaming hunk of rurouni.
1. Default Chapter

_Rurouni Kenshin and all its characters are copyrighted to the proper companies and individuals responsible for their creation. I  felt like tapping into this universe one more time since my previous romp was so much fun. It looks like this story could be two or three short chapters, but ain't nothing saying it will be. This whole story was spur-of-the-moment, so even I have no idea where its going. Please review-it makes my world go 'round._

**Bath**** Time**

Chapter 1

            Muscles ached with the sweetly familiar work. Sudsy water trickled down, adding to the small puddles forming around the washbasin. The scent of clean soap wafted lazily upwards, tickling the nose of a daydreaming rurouni. 

            Eventually the scent grew tired of being ignored, and went in for the attack. His  nose twitched, and one sneeze after another erupted from him. The force was enough to rock Kenshin back from his squatting position so quickly that he lost his balance and ended up in a heap. 

            The purple-eyed man was surprised to find the last traces of sunlight fading from the sky. _How long have I been out here?_ He wondered. Muscles in his neck and shoulders cried out for attention, and Kenshin stretched briefly. The ground under him was wet, but at the moment it didn't matter. 

            All he could think about-which, according to calculations had been close to two hours-was the nearby bathhouse. Shortly after beginning his favorite chore, Kaoru had emerged from the dojo, presumably after an afternoon of training with Yahiko, with a clean yukata in hand. 

            Their gazes met across the yard and suddenly the heat of the laundry water had been nothing compared to the fire in the rurouni's heart. Kaoru's bangs hung heavily in her face, and patches of sweat dotted the underarms of her uniform. The previous annoyance in her face and posture disappeared as the red-haired man smiled at her, and she paused halfway across the yard. Late-afternoon sun caressed her dark hair, and in that moment Kenshin thought he had never seen anyone else as beautiful. 

            He continued to stare at the assistant master until she began to fidget under his gaze. Realizing his error, Kenshin blinked and shook his head to clear away the thoughts which, spoken, would clearly earn him a knock from her bokken. Kaoru's smile faltered, as if she had been able to peer into his mind. "Kenshin?" He plastered on the rurouni smile. 

"Yes, Miss Kaoru?" _Bad, this is bad._

His voice trembled like it had for two weeks during puberty. He had become a mute in order to avoid Hiko's taunting, and only days after that had fought with his master and gone to join the Ishin Shishi. 

            "-bath now…Kenshin, are you listening?" 

Her foot was tapping. He tried to piece together what she had said, but the memory was blank. "Would you like me to draw a bath for you, Miss Kaoru?" She gave him an exasperated sigh, but instead of launching into a lecture simply nodded.

 _Would you like me to join you in that bath, Miss Kaoru? He thought, and tipped the final bucket of water into the wooden tub. After exiting the bathhouse, Kenshin stumbled past Kaoru to the neutral laundry tub and proceeded to forget about her…for all of two minutes. The problem with laundry was that it was easy to do it and think of other things. Idly he considered going off to some secluded place to train for a while, but there was no way to justify going off and leaving the dojo unguarded just to control some…urges. _

            He sighed, and sat up. She had been in there an awfully long time. Or maybe she had already finished and slipped back to her room while he was scrubbing. The purple-eyed man tried to extend his senses towards the bathhouse, but he couldn't see or hear anything from that direction. 

            The last piece of laundry was hung and laid out to dry. Kenshin carefully tipped the cooled water out into the small garden behind the dojo and laid the basin to rest. His back and shoulders hurt just as much, if not more than they had earlier. _Maybe she had the right idea._ A warm bath would soothe those kinks right out. A quick trip to gather necessities, and Kenshin was on his way out to the bathhouse without even a thought as to check on Kaoru's whereabouts. 


	2. Chapter 2

_            As always, Rurouni Kenshin and all characters therein are copyright of their various owners. I'm not making any money off this short story._

**_AN: _**_Alrighty__…two reviews. Better than I was expecting, actually. Thanks folks. Since you asked nicely (and since I've got a lot of time on my hands), here's the second chapter. There will be a total of three, possibly four chapters to this fic. Short 'n' sweet, just like Ken-san. Please review!_

**Bath Time**

Chapter 2

            As he crossed the yard of the Kamiya dojo, Kenshin was keenly aware of an expectant stillness in the air. There were birds in the trees certainly, but they all seemed to be watching him expectantly. The thought finally struck that Kaoru could still be bathing, and his steps slowed reluctantly.

            _It would not do at all to walk in on Miss Kaoru bathing, that it would not. The familiar thought-voice of the rurouni spoke up. Kenshin reached the front stoop of the bathhouse and stopped in his tracks. The sound of muffled off-key enthusiastic humming reached his ears. She was still inside, and probably not decent. _

            The red-haired man sighed dejectedly, and moved to sit underneath a shady tree. Half of him grumbled at the wait, but there was nothing else he could do. Several urges were tugging at his attention, but surprisingly sleep overcame the rest. Every aching muscles managed to soothe him, and Kenshin drifted, half-dreaming.

            "Hey, Kenshin!" Strong fingers lightly pushed at his shoulder, causing the man to blink slowly at the figure in front of him. Satisfied that he was awake, Kaoru stepped back and placed her hands on her hips. In a second he was wide awake, as her form was clad in only a light towel. Raven hair cascaded down her back, leaving rivulets of water to stream down her arms. Steam from the bathhouse had given a rosy gleam to her porcelain skin, and it was all the rurouni could do not to fall over in a surprised stupor. 

            "Well, are you coming in, or not?" 

            Kaoru cocked her head to the side. Her tone was light enough that she might have been asking when dinner would be ready. Kenshin's eyes grew large as the question finally made sense in his brain. "I-I…Oh!" She must mean to go clean up the puddles on the floor. The request was to be expected, but the way she had phrased it…

            He began to get up, but she stepped forward and offered him a hand. _And__ much more than that. Spoke up a new voice in his head. Kenshin closed his eyes and gave her the rurouni grin to escape from the luscious partial view of her chest as she bent to help him._

            Kaoru harrumphed lightly to herself when his eyes remained closed. "Kenshin! Hello!" He unwillingly opened his eyes, and wished to shut them immediately. The slender woman stood less than a foot away from him, watching with a strange look in her eye that he couldn't place.  "Excuse me, Miss Kaoru. I-" _Need to get the mop and bucket, is what he had meant to say, but she placed a slim finger on his lips. _

"You're not going anywhere except straight to the bathhouse." Her voice was husky, and its pleasant musicality played on his crumbling control like a stringed instrument. With a slight growl of frustration, she grabbed the front of his gi and with surprising strength hauled his mostly-unwilling body close behind as she marched back to the bathhouse. 


	3. Chapter 3

_Rurouni Kenshin and all its characters are copyrighted to the appropriate people. I make no money from the creation of this story, and frankly, I don't think anyone would pay for it anyway. _

**_AN: _**_Third chapter down, one to go. Man, I've had fun with this story. It's not often that I can crank out a chapter a day, but my fangirlish brain has been running on overload for a while now. Yes, this chapter is severely short, but I'm posting this and the last one at the same time to make up for it. I love this couple. Unfortunately, they're both so hard to write sometimes. I can just about hear Kenshin's horrified voice in my head, yelling to stop the bishie torture before it's too late. Wahaha, sorry sucker. Please review._

**Bath**** Time**

Chapter Three

            For a second or two, Kenshin was too surprised to do anything other than allow himself to be dragged along. As the initial shock wore off, his mental alarm began to chime frantically. 

            "M…Miss Kaoru…I-I…if you are mad at me, I would be perfectly _willing, er…the mop and bucket…" She stopped and turned to him without releasing the iron grip on the front of his gi. Her normal smile was different, and he started to back away from whatever punishment awaited him at the bathhouse for an unknown crime._

            "Kenshin?" Kaoru asked sweetly. He managed a half-hearted smile before she jerked him forward. The petite woman was much stronger than she seemed. Her face was so close that he could feel her breath against his cheek. "Do me two favors, Kenshin." He swallowed cautiously.

            "And what would that be, Miss Kaoru?" Her eyes glittered like blue diamonds, and in spite of his fear at this strange demon, all he could focus on were her lips. They turned up in the right corner as she smirked and pulled him even closer. 

            Their bodies were now touching. He could feel her pressed against him; her small fists bundled up in the material of his gi. "First, forget about the mop and bucket." His eyes widened, and she grinned ferociously at him. 

            "And…the second, Miss Kaoru?" The red-haired man's voice squeaked on the last syllable of her name as the girl in question released her death grip on his shirt and trailed one slender finger over the exposed area of his chest. Kenshin was sweating now, a mix of adrenaline and the feeling of something more primitive. The two locked eyes and he noted a quick flash of indecision on her face. It was gone in a second, and she resumed the seductive-"_Seductive? Miss Kaoru?" -grin. _

            With her free hand, Kaoru tugged at his gi, forcing him to stoop forward until they were touching noses. "And the second…just call me Kaoru." Her eyes searched his bewildered face for a second before throwing both arms around his neck and kissing him. 

The previous forwardness of Kaoru's actions had left Kenshin's reactionary skills somewhat blunted, and for a moment he stood frozen to the spot. 

            That second was long enough for Kaoru to pull back, and this time the flush on her cheeks could not be explained away as any type of glow from the bathhouse. He was still stunned, so she took the opportunity to push him up the step to the door of the aforementioned building with little effort.


	4. Chapter 4

_Rurouni Kenshin and all characters are copyright of the respective companies and owners. I make no money from this story. _

**_AN:_**_ Looks like the end, folks. Just in time, I might add. Things might get a little steamy, so make sure your monitors don't become fogged up. I'm kind of surprised how this story took off. Whoo-ee! This whole story was the result of a "What If?" game that I play in my head to pass the time. Hope you enjoyed it. I don't usually explore this aspect of Kenshin and Kaoru's hesitant relationship, since keeping both in character and providing a cutesy plotline is hard. Anyway, please review, and thanks for reading._

**Bath**** Time**

Chapter 4

            By the time he had fully recovered, Kaoru had shoved him inside and closed the door behind her. The residual heat from the water hit the rurouni like a slap in the face, and he finally took control over his hanging jaw. "Miss Kaoru, what's going on? Are you sick? Should I-"

            Her quick fingers found the tie to his hakama, and began to undo the complicated knot. Kenshin gave a startled "Eep!" and jumped back. Unfortunately, her grip was very strong, and his jump was cut off in mid-leap as she tugged him back. The wandering swordsman landed in an undignified heap on the ground, and Kaoru pounced. She had his gi off so quickly that it seemed as if her movements were lightning fast. The traditional binding over his abdomen was shredded in a manner to fast for even his eyes to follow. Kaoru plopped down, straddling his lap and leaned over to brace her weight on his shoulders. 

            She stared down at Kenshin's face. Flecks of gold swirled in his normally purple eyes. Alarm spread across her face for a moment, but feminine instinct caused her to bend down and give him a gentle kiss. The fight or flee instinct left the rurouni, but there was still the matter of a barely-clothed Kaoru sitting on him. She ran a soft hand over the scar on his cheek, trailing down the curve of his neck to rest briefly on the bare skin over his heart. 

            Not that Kenshin minded, but being alone in here with her….like this….well, it was a good thing the other regulars were in town for the day. Unfortunately, he realized, that meant…well, it meant they were completely alone. He was beginning to realize other things as Kaoru's hands idly traced patterns over his stomach. If she didn't stop soon…

            "I had to make you wake up somehow." Kenshin turned away from his inner thoughts to regard her face. Kaoru's blush had deepened, spreading to the roots of her hair. She sat back, leaning on the wooden floor to either side of his knees. The position was so provocative that he turned his face to the side, a similar blush creeping over his face. 

            They sat silently for a moment. Kenshin wanted to tell her that she had always had his attention, but the words remained stuck in his throat. Finally, she sat up, and wiggled closer to his waist. The sensation caused him to gasp, and she turned his face to look at her. Her hands fumbled at the ties of her towel, and Kenshin swallowed a groan. What on earth was she doing? _You already know WHAT she's doing, idiot. _

            The ties came undone, and slowly began to slide down, and he took in a breath-

"Hey! Kenshin!" Red hair covered the sleeping man's eyes, and he mumbled some incoherent from beneath the heavy bangs. Kaoru stood above him, a mop and bucket in each hand. She had tried everything to wake him up, and a quick bop with her bokken was starting to sound like a good idea. There was a sopping wet floor to take care of in the bathhouse, and the assistant master had better things to do. 

            Judging by items scattered nearby, the sleeping man had been planning on a bath of his own. Something inside her twinged in regret at waking him to clean up her mess, but that was part of their living arrangement. Kaoru poked him once more half-heartedly. It was actually kind of cute to see him sleeping like this. In the year and a half the wanderer had taken up space in her residence, she couldn't recall ever having seen him sleep. 

            A stray thought popped up then, causing her to wonder where it came from? Somewhere a bird called out, "_Kiss him!" Kaoru shook her head. There was no way any bird anywhere could actually say that. It was all in her imagination. Still, it wasn't a half-bad idea. _

            She called his name again. There was no response. Kaoru stood over him, arms crossed. Minutes passed by, and only Kenshin's mumbles broke the quiet. Finally, she had had enough. Careful not to drop the bucket, Kaoru approached him, trying to stifle a mad giggle in the back of her throat. This was crazy…and yet, her heart was trying to hammer its way out of her chest. She crouched on his left side, careful to avoid kneeling on the calloused hand that had slipped off his lap. 

            Small puffs of breath escaped his lips. Kaoru's mind was screaming at her to just go and clean the bathhouse herself and leave this funny business behind. She reached up gently to push the bangs away from his forehead, and dropped her lips gently on his. The result was instantaneous. 

            Kenshin rocketed forwards, cracking his skull against hers. His purple eyes, flecked with gold, flicked to her face. "M-Miss Kaoru! I'm so sorry!" The gold faded from his eyes, and he glanced at the pail and mop resting on the ground. "Did you wish for me to clean out the bathhouse now?" Kaoru sat back rubbing at her aching head. The urge to yell at him was strong, so she just nodded. 

            Kenshin was on his feet, helping her up in a flash. He bent to pick up the cleaning supplies, and stole a quick peek. She was still rubbing her head. He could still feel the tingle of her lips on his, and touched them to make sure it wasn't another dream. 

            Kaoru noticed his discreet assessment, her anger fading. Kenshin nodded at her and hefted the mop over one shoulder. "Kenshin-" She began. He stopped and turned to her. There was a long pause as they looked at one another. "I had to wake you up somehow." Kaoru said by way of apology, and beat a hasty retreat back inside the dojo. 

            As it was, she missed  the bewildered start of recognition on the rurouni's face. He stared after her retreating form before turning towards the bathhouse with a smile on his lips. 


End file.
